The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Life imitates art, or so they say. Today I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on fifth avenue and dove headfirst into one of my favorite art museums. I observed medieval art, modern and contemporary art, European sculptures, decorative arts, Greek art, Roman art and Egyptian art. The Egyptian art section was by far the best exhibit. Pieces dated from the Paleolithic era to the Roman era. Colossal obelisks depicted various stories through hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics usually mentioned pharaohs (Egyptian kings) and various gods. Around the Egyptian Temple of Dendur there was a beautiful moat laid out across the front half of the exhibit. My favorite pieces of art from the Egyptian exhibit were the sarcophaguses. The concept and history behind the sarcophagus are quite fascinating. Ancient Egyptians mummified the dead then placed them in sarcophaguses to rest. Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife so they thoroughly prepared the dead for this. Egyptian tombs were decorated with the deceased person with food, property, and offerings to sustain them in the afterlife. To Egyptians “the land of two fields” was known as their heaven. When someone died their heart would be weighed on a scale by the Egyptian god Ma ‘at. Ma ‘at is known as the Egyptian scale of truth or balance. You had to earn entry to “the land of two fields”. Performing good deeds during your time on earth did this. If you managed to perform good deeds your heart would become light. If your heart was not light enough a crocodile-like beast, Ammit the devourer would eat your heart restricting you from leading a peaceful afterlife. If your heart weighed light, you were welcomed to Ra’s ship. Ra is the Egyptian sun god. Ra ruled the sky, earth, and the underworld. All in all Egyptian history is vivid and beautiful. The Metropolitan Museum of art was well worth it.